Illuminating means for taximeters



spl. 30, 1930. J, @LUCK I v 1,776,998

' A ILLuuIATING MEANS Fon TAXIIETERS Filed Dec. 2, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 15 g L 2v/7197.3. l g 77 v 15 J 722' l 7.?- i :Invenfoc zia.; Gluck,

A GVW Patented Sept. 30, 1930 Unirse k STATI-:s

miiiaN'r OFFICE JULIUS GLUCK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO OHMER i FARE REGISTER COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A rCORPORA'IION OF NEW YORK ILLUMINATNG MEANS FOR TAXIMETERS Application filed December 2, 1922. Serial N'o. 604,597.

This invention relates to a novel lighting system lor taximeters whereby the 'tare register may be flooded With light when the meter is operating and also the status ot the vehicle f, Will be indicated more especially at night when the usual flag or its equivalent is not readily discernible.

To that end the invention contemplates a novel, attractive' andpractical arrangement gy, of signal and illuminating lamps which are automifitically operated by the flag or the like when the same is moved by the chauilleur to place the meter in or out of operation. In Vthat connection the invention proposes to pro- ,5 vide asignal which is illuminated when the flag is in the for hire7 position, thereby not only to announce to the public that the vehicle is for hire buttoserve as a check on the operator running With his flag up and the meter not registering.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple and reliable means for automatically closing and opening the circuits to the lan'ips at the proper points in the cycle of the FVitli the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, coingg.) bination and arrangement ot parts hereinafter more fully described, illlustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying Y :is drawings, in Which:

Figure l is a front View of a meter havingv the lamps arranged according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken la on the line2-2 of Fig. l. illustrating the arrangement ot the switches and circuit connections.

Figure 3 is a detail vertical sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

.5 Similar reference characters designate corautomatically operates at the .proper points ot the cycle of the flag and Hag shaft to'indicate that the vehicle is vacant or engaged;

and when the'vehicle is being used, to alsor flood the fare register of the meter1 With light so that the occupant of the cab may readily see the fare totals and other data provided Vfor his" inspection and information on the face of the meter. y

Obviously, the present lighting system may 'bc used on any type 'ot' meter to indicate its condition according to the position oit' the,

scribed in my co-pending application Serial l\lo.,5l5,92,0, filed Novembe'rl'?, 199.1.

4Accordingly, as Will be observed from the drawings, the present invention may be applied to a meter having any exterior casing l provided with the Window' 2 for exhibiting the registering face of the meter mechanism which includes the fare totals and other data. Atany suitable and convenient place on the casing 1 of the meter as for example on the top thereof, as shown in Figure l, are arranged the signal units A and B, While on the front of the meter, preferably in the psition also shown in Figure 2, above the Window 2, there is also arranged an illuminating unit ydesignated generaly as C.

The signal lamp units A andB may have globes or shades of diliei'ent colors while the 'illun'iinating'unit C is intended to Hood the tare register ylooxvvith illuminating light to render thefare totals andotlier data readily readable. f v

The signal unit A is preferably used to indicate that the vehicle is for hire and is illuminated when the flag F of the meter is in its upright or for hire7 position while the lamp B is preferably included in circuit with the illuminating unit C for flooding the register box oitl the meter With light so that When the flag F is turned into one of the tarit positions When the vehicle is hired, the signal unit B and illuminating unit C will both be lighted to indicatethat the vehicle is hired and also enable the occupant of the vehicle inminating units B and C being designated generally as S. These switches may be conveniently mounted on one ot the side frames 3 o'l the meter mechanism as sho-wn in Figure and both are controlled by the movement ot parts of the meter mechanism operated directly by the flag shaft F which extends into the meter and operates the cross shait or cam shait F 2 through the medium ot the gears lt and, F3 as shown in Figure 2.

The units A, B and C each include a suitable metallic socket a' which receives an il'- luminating lamp Z, one of the terminals y of the socket being grounded to the frame oi the meter while the other terminal e' is connected with one of the current carrying wires oit the electrical circuit.

Referring irst to the signal unit A which announces that the meter is in its "ior hire condition, that is with the flag up as shown in Figure 2, it will be observed that the switch S which controls the unit A preterably consists: of the contact fingers l and 5 carried by a terminal block 6 and'having the line wire 7 connecting with the wire 8 leading from the main terminal block 9 to which current is supplied from a battery or other suitable source through the attach- .mentof one of the Vieed wires with the terminal element 10. The other wire 11 connected with the switch block 6 is in electrical contact with the switch member 5 and leads directly to the terminal s or' the lamp of the unit A as shown in Figure 1. (lag F is in its vertical or for hire .position the members 4 and 5 of the switch S are main` mit the contact 4 and 5 to separate thus breaking the circuit to the lamp of the said signal unit A.

Simultaneously with the breaking of the circuit to the signal unit A by the opening o'l' the switch S, the member 13 of the ilag shaft operatedk instrumentalities which set the meter in operation, operates the switch S thereby to close'the circuit to the lamps et the signal unit l?) and illuminatin unit C. That is to say, when the flag F is movedinto Vhen the i one of the tari positions the flag shaft F will turn and rotate the cam 13 to thereby litt the depending finger 14C of the lever 15 out et the notch 16 andV consequently li'l't the member 12b in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 2, thereby causing the insulated block 12a to place the contact 17 into engagement with the contact 18 ot the switch S. is the member 17 is connected with the source of electrical energy through the Wire 8PL and the member 18 is connected with the terminal .e yof 'the 'lamp socket in the signal unit B and illuminating unit C by the wires 19 and 20 respectively, the lamp Z of the units l and C will be lighted when the members of the switch S are closed to thus show that the vehicle is engaged and to also 'lood the iare register with light.

F rom the il'oregoing it will be seen that the distinctive feature of the present invention'is o provide means tor indicating the condition of the meter and'illuminating the tare register, the lamps of the illuminating units being lighted or extinguished through "the switches S or S controlled directly by the movement oi? the iiag shaft, or an equivalent member, for setting the meter mechanism in and out ot operation. The signal units A and B and illuminating unit C may be of any desired construction and may Vshow any desired color to announce the status oi2 the meter.

llithout further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the improvement will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invent-ion or scope of the appended claims.

l claim l1. A combined status-indicating signal and fare drum position illuminating system for 'taximeters including in combination with the meter caf-ging, a rotatable ting sha'tt and a cam. shaft arranged within and housed and concealed by the meter casing, signal lamps mounted on the meter casing,an illuminating lamp positioned to flood the fare drum with light, switch operated by said cam shaft,

and another switch operated by said flag Y shaft, said switches being alternately opened and closed to control the signal and illuminating lamps.

2. A signal construction for taizimeters comprising a meter casing provided thereon with a plurality or electrical signals, a flag shaft within said casing, a cam rigidly mounted on said flag shaft, a switch, means whereby said'switch is closed by said cam when the lag is in hired position, a second switch within said casing, and a second cam to close said second switch when the iiag is in for hire position, the first of said switches being connected to leads to light a plurality of said signa'ls so as to Hood the face of the meter with light and also to illuminate a distinctively colored light, the second of said switches being connected to another of said signals having a distinguishing color.

3. A combined status indicating signal and fare drum illuminating system for taximeters including a taXimeter casing having a plurality of sign als mounted on the top thereof, said signals heilig of a distinctive color, an illuminating unit mounted in such a position as v to flood the fare drums with light when illuminated, a flag shaft, a flag mounted thereon, a switch operatively connected with said illaminating unit and one of said signals, a cam on said flag shaft, a lever mounted adjacent said cam so as to he operated thereby, said lever serving as a means to close said switch when the iag is in hired position, a cam shaft operatively connected with said flag shaft, a `cam mounted thereon, a second switch, said last named cam serving as a lmeans to close said second switch, and means operatively connecting said second switch with one of 5 said signals. y

Ll. In combination a meter casing provided with two signal lamps and with an illuminating lamp adapted to `flood the face of the meter with light, a` plurality of electric circuits within the casing, a switch for each of ysaid circuits, one of said circuits extending to one of the signal lamps and the other of said circuits leading to the other signal lamp and the illuminating lamp and means within the taximeter casing whereby either of said switches may be opened or closed, said means including a cam operated by the flag shaft to close one of the switches when the flag shaft is in vacant position so as to cause one of the signal lamps to be illuminated to show that the taxicah is vacant, and a cam adapted to close the other of said switches when the flag shaft is in hired position so as to close the circuit leading to the other signal lamp and tothe illuminating lamp.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afx my signature.

JULIUS GLUCK. 

